I was in the library one evening reading a book on defensive spells that were far more complex than any we had learned in school when Theodore exploded into the room looking pale in the face and tightly clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Why are you still reading that?" I questioned before I saw how panicked he was. "I thought everything written there was rubbish."

"Lyra, this is serious," he told me. "Potter and his friends broke into Gringotts and the Dark Lord is throwing a tantrum. He's already killed several goblins simply out of rage."

"What?" I exclaimed as I jumped up from my seat. The book I was reading fell to the floor with a crash, but I barely took notice. "Why did they break in?"

"I have no idea, but they stole a golden cup. Whatever it was, it's making him distraught. It must be important. Lyra, do you think ... is it possible that the Dark Lord has a secret Potter knows about?"

"I've suspected that," I admitted. "Whatever it is, I hope it - "

I was cut off. The door flew open and Bellatrix sped in with her wand pointed like always. "Lyra!" she screeched. "They broke into our vault! You know this is your fault - "

She fell to the floor after a beam of red light hit her. Rodolphus appeared in the doorway seconds after. He looked bored.

"That's twice I've had to save you from her," he said with a hint of humor.

"How can you joke right now?" I asked. Swallowing hard, I explained to him how I felt: "She's going to try to kill me at every moment she gets! I can't be protected any longer!"

"I won't let her ... kill you," he said with disgust. Then he sighed. "She's blinded by insanity. She can't see you for who you are, but for what you've done. She just hates seeing the Dark Lord like he is now ... I'm sure you heard ... " He broke off with something new in his voice - pain?

"You miss her the way she was," I muttered.

He sighed again. "I just want ... well, I'll say it even if the Dark Lord is around: I just want this war to end. Then maybe she wouldn't be like she is ... if he were gone."

"I think we all want this to be over," I told him.

Silence filled the room. I looked out the window to see the sky fading to dusk. A moment later, something burned me, causing me to inhale sharply. It wasn't the first time I had felt that hot scorching pain against my leg. I reached into my robe pocket and felt the source of the heat: my D.A. Galleon. I always kept it in my pocket because it was one of the few pieces of the past I had left with me. I never thought I would feel it burn again.

"What's wrong?" Rodolphus asked. "He's not summoning you, is he?"

"What? Oh, the Dark Lord? No, it's this: my Galleon."

Rodolphus looked perplexed, but Theodore understood. With a gasp he said, "You don't think Hogwarts is ... but the Dark Lord is here! He can't be attacking the school, can he?"

With perfect timing, I felt that familiar splitting pain in my wrist. I wasn't the only one - Rodolphus clapped his opposite hand to his and unconscious Bellatrix sprang up from the floor, awoken by the Dark Lord's call.

"The Dark Lord summons! To the kitchen!" she yelled dramatically.

I gave Theodore an astonished, apprehensive look. He looked just as uncertain, but approached my side. Together we walked to the kitchen without knowing what we would face inside.

The other Death Eaters were gathered there, but Voldemort was nowhere to be found. Then, once everyone was clustered into the room, a voice boomed out of the walls (so it seemed), cold, high-pitched, and familiar.

"My faithful Death Eaters, the time has come," the Dark Lord's voice spoke. "Harry Potter is at Hogwarts, and it is time to destroy him once and for all. I need each and every one of you to prepare to fight and Apparate to Hogwarts immediately. I will meet you there. This cannot wait. I must take action now. Do as I say now."

Icy fear gripped me. "What's going on?" I whispered.

"Potter must have discovered his secrets!" Theodore whispered fiercely. "But we have to fight."

"I - I can't do that! I could never fight against the D.A.! I've spent my whole life trying to prove that I would never have anything to do with the Dark Side, and when I show up in Death Eater robes, what will they think?"

"They won't know it's you; you'll be in your mask!"

"Oh, yes! A lot of help you're being!" I hissed. I turned away from him and left the kitchen, pushing through the crowd of Death Eaters to get through the door. Holding back tears with all my might, I ran up the stairs and into my bedroom. I slammed the door, flopped on my bed, and let it out.

How could I fight? I wasn't a traitor. How could Theodore and Rodolphus fight for the Death Eaters either? All my life I had felt torn between the sides of good and evil, but I never thought it would come to this. My heart was in two places. I couldn't fight against Dora, the Order, and what was right, but I couldn't fight against Theodore and my father either!

"Lyra, we have to go."

The sound of Rodolphus's voice surprised me. I had been too preoccupied with my thoughts to hear him enter the room. I looked up at him through blurred vision, and I saw that his eyes were gentle.

"I can't go," I moaned. "I can't! I can't fight for either side!"

"Then stay here and I'll cover for you somehow."

"I can't do that either! Don't you get it? If I stay, I'll never know what's going on; I won't be able to protect those I care about. But there are people I love on both sides!"

With what appeared to take a lot of effort, Rodolphus said, "Just follow your heart. That's the only advice I can give."

"Wait ... " A thought had struck me. "You said you want this war to be over. Couldn't you fight with me?" My tone was fierce, even demanding.

"Are you saying you're going to change sides?"

"I ... I ... I guess I am. Dad, I can't ... " I stopped speaking. Had I really just referred to him as 'Dad'? "I can't fight everything I've lived for. Sirius died fighting for the right side, and I will too if it comes to it."

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," he said. "You've always belonged there, Lyra."

"Lyra!" Theodore ran into the room. "Lyra, Rodolphus, we have to hurry! Lucius says the Dark Lord won't wait!"

"He's quite right," Rodolphus agreed. "I'll meet you two down there."

He left the room, leaving the two of us alone.

"Lyra ... you're going to change sides, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I can't say I'm surprised."

A painful silence followed.

"I guess you're not," I muttered.

"You know I can't do that," he replied.

"Why not?" I jumped up, almost furious. "You said you wanted this war to be over! Fight for what you want, Theodore! Follow your heart! I know why you don't want to switch sides - you're afraid of what the Dark Lord and your father will do to you!"

"Wow," he muttered. "You guessed correctly."

"Don't be afraid! Fight with me! Fight for what's right!"

I locked my eyes with him, daring him to break the stare. Somehow I knew he wouldn't ... we loved each other too much to fight against each other.

"I - I guess I could," he finally conceded. "Yes. I'll be by your side through the whole thing. I do love you, Lyra."

"I love you too. That's why I couldn't fight against you."

He simply nodded. Then he kissed me so tenderly it hurt-how did we know this wasn't the last one ever? The chilling thought pierced me: any of us could be walking straight to our deaths. Would I ever be able to survive if I lost him tonight? I knew it would be impossible to convince him to stay behind, however much I wanted to know he would be safe.

"Are you two coming down or not?" a disgusted, repulsed voice asked. Startled, Theodore and I released each other and saw Draco in the doorway. Humiliation and anger swamped me; why did it have to be him?

"We're waiting for you two," he snapped. "I see neither of you have your masks on!"

With a jolt I saw his Death Eater mask clamped in his hand. I looked at Theodore with wide eyes.

"You have to wear it," he insisted gently. Then, leaning close, he said in a whisper, "Use it to your advantage."

"What do you mean? Oh!"

He nodded his head as I understood. I could wear Death Eater attire but still switch sides because nobody would know who I was. I would have to be tricky, but I could pretend to shoot a curse at an Order member but hit a Death Eater instead. I sighed in distress. This wasn't going to be easy.

"If you're quite finished, we need to leave before the Dark Lord curses our - "

"We get it," I muttered. "And we're ready. Let's go."

Every step down the stairs lasted forever. My feet were heavy and eventually I couldn't feel my legs at all. This was really it - the moment I would have to prove my loyalties. At that moment I had never felt less like a Death Eater, even as I placed the mask on my face. Whether I would get away with anything was another matter. But a different question nagged at me ...

... Was this the final battle of good against evil?

Just outside the front door the rest of the Death Eaters were gathered. When the last of us joined, we stood and waited. For what, I wasn't sure.

"Um ... what are we waiting for?" I whispered to Theodore, but he wasn't the only one who heard.

"We're waiting to be called," the Death Eater called Antonin Dolohov hissed. "We can't just charge into Hogwarts without orders, can we?"

I glared at him, but inside I was embarrassed.

We waited for minutes as the twilit sky slowly began to darken. I grew more and more nervous every second. I was in the dark about what was going on at Hogwarts, but the D.A. must have figured out that Voldemort was coming to attack. At last my wrist ached (I grabbed it like always; it was just as excruciating each time). We had been summoned. All around me Death Eaters began to Apparate.

"To Hogwarts!" Bellatrix yelled. "The Dark Lord is waiting for us!"

"Lyra, put your mask on!" Theodore whispered. I did so, but with tremendous unwillingness. Then Rodolphus approached me.

"I'll meet you two there in a few seconds," he said. "Don't wait too long."

He vanished with a pop. As the last sounds of Apparating Death Eaters filled the air, I realized we were the last two left.

"Um ... Theodore?" I said cautiously, thinking that my humiliation was never going to end. "Do you remember last year, that day we found a boggart in the cabinet and Snape caught us? It was right after the first Apparition lesson."

"Yes, I do, but I don't really think this is the time for reminiscing," he said hastily. "We need to go."

"Fine, I'll be straightforward. I can't Apparate."

He smiled - and almost laughed. "Then we'll Apparate together. Don't be so embarrassed. The only important thing is that we get to Hogwarts fast."

Without warning, he pulled me into the void. I hadn't had a chance to prepare, so I felt like my lungs would burst from lack of air. Finally we crashed hard on the ground outside the gates in front of the too-familiar castle from which I'd been absent for a year now. We scrambled to our feet and met up with the others. I recognized the Dark Lord closest to the gate and felt that familiar chilling fear seize hold of me. Yet there was something strange going on - Voldemort was just standing there.

My father walked up to us and said, "They've placed protective charms around the castle. He'll get through somehow, though."

"My Lord, allow me," Bellatrix pleaded to Voldemort. "Allow me to break the enchantments."

"No! I can deal with this on my own, Bella! I believe I will take a different approach. Sonorus!"

When he spoke this time, his voice was louder than any human voice I had ever heard. The whole castle as well as the forest and Hogsmeade could probably hear him. With his high-pitched new voice, he demanded Harry Potter to visit him by midnight.

"And now ... I shall continue to break through the barriers," Voldemort said in his normal voice.

Nobody dared to say a word or offer help as he muttered incantations under his breath in attempt to break through the gates.

At last the bars flew open. Voldemort signaled us inside. Bellatrix, Lucius, and several others raced to the front in their eagerness to follow his orders. The rest of us flooded in behind. He led us into the forest and told us to wait until midnight. If Harry didn't come by then, we would attack.

As we waited for Harry or midnight - whichever came first - we walked deeper into the forest. Once we were in the heart of it, we sat around in a circle. I couldn't control my nervous shaking and next to me Theodore kept glancing at his watch apprehensively.

Midnight came first.

"Find Potter and bring him to me! Do not kill him! I repeat, do not kill him! When you must, kill the others to get to him," the Dark Lord commanded.

Bellatrix was the first to run out of the forest. The others followed more slowly. Rodolphus went with them, not wanting to betray our secret to Voldemort. Theodore and I were last. I stood up from the trunk with legs like jelly and I felt as if I would collapse.

"This is it," I muttered half to myself once we were out of Voldemort's earshot. Theodore didn't say anything. Once we were out of the woods, I gasped. The battle was already a huge disaster. Beams of light flew across the ground in every color from every direction. Various objects were thrusted from the windows of the castle, and every few seconds the earth below would quake.

"Giants," Theodore whispered. He pointed to a spot high above us; I looked over and gasped. There were a few giant humanlike creatures stomping around senselessly, but if anyone got underfoot they would be crushed instantly.

"The Dark Lord's?" I asked.

"Yes. Come on, let's go. There's no point standing around like this."

We walked into the heart of the conflict and wandered around helplessly. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just followed Theodore. Yet I was positive he had no idea what he was doing either.

Suddenly a loud shout and blast of red light caught our attention. I spun around quickly and saw Remus Lupin shooting a curse at us. Instinctively I ducked instead of drawing out my wand and cursing him back. I got to my feet quickly and hurried away, dodging more curses as I ran with Theodore trailing behind me.

"Remus!" I heard someone shout. "What's going on? Why are they running from you?"

Dora!

I stopped abruptly and ran toward them, halting in front of Dora. She turned to me with her wand aimed, prepared to attack.

"Dora!" I exclaimed without bothering to keep my voice down. "Dora, it's me!"

Her expression turned to pure shock. "Lyra?"

"Yes, yes! I'm here to fight for you! Theodore and I - "

"Theodore? Is that him?" she asked.

I remembered that Dora and Theodore had never met, but now was certainly not the time for formal introductions. "Yes, that's him, and we're here to fight."

"But I thought he - Lyra, why are you dressed like a Death Eater? Mum told me you got captured, so does that mean they took you in?"

"Yes, and it's a long story; I'll have to explain later. Look out, there's another Death Eater coming! I'm sorry, I have to go ... the plan won't work unless I can be tricky."

"But - "

As much as I wanted to stay and talk to her, to catch up and answer all of her questions, I had to keep going. Gesturing for Theodore to follow, I ran away from the scene, desperately hoping the arriving Death Eater hadn't seen me talking to her.

"So that's your cousin," Theodore remarked.

"Yes. What now? I think that Death Eater saw me!"

"Follow me, I have an idea."

He led the way through many pairs of dueling witches and wizards. I was trembling from head to foot for jets of green light were flying in every direction. Maybe the Death Eaters weren't aiming for me, but that didn't stop a Killing Curse from brushing past my arm.

After a minute or so we were behind the Death Eater who was now dueling Dora and Remus.

"Now," Theodore said in a hushed tone, "pretend to attack your cousin, but hit Macnair instead."

"That's Macnair? Okay, which spell?"

"It doesn't matter, but think fast!"

His voice was panicked and nervous, which made me tremble harder. Aiming carefully, I cried, "Stupefy!" but it missed.

"Stunning?" Theodore asked in disbelief. "When I said the spell didn't matter, I still hoped you would choose something more powerful! Think, Lyra, think! What's the most powerful curse you know?"

"I'm not going to cast a Killing Curse!"

"No!" he shouted in frustration. Then, lowering his voice, he said, "the other most powerful curse! He's a Death Eater, so don't feel guilty!"

"Right - fine. Crucio!"

Macnair fell, and Dora looked over in surprise. Her eyes met mine and comprehension lit up her face. Then she turned to Remus and beckoned him to follow her, but a new Death Eater was dueling with him. He had taken off his mask and hood and I saw that it was Dolohov.

"Let's curse him!" I said.

"No! We can't do it here, it'll be too obvious! Let's get to the other side, near Lupin or whoever he is, and then we'll curse Dolohov."

"You're right."

We hurried around to the opposite side, near the place Remus was standing. Dora had now joined him in the duel.

"Ready?" Theodore asked. "NOW!"

"Crucio!"

My spell flew at Dolohov, but it hit a second too late. He had already shot a glimmering peridot-colored beam of light at Remus. It hit him square in the chest; he staggered and fell. I heard Dora scream "NO!" as he hit the ground, but I was too stunned to move, let alone shout. It was too late. Remus was dead on the ground because of me.

"Lyra, look," Theodore whispered. He pointed to something, but I couldn't see it. I was still immobilized.

"Lyra! You hit Dolohov! He's down!"

When I found my voice, I said hoarsely, "But Remus died!"

He couldn't find the words to comfort me, I assumed, because he said nothing else. I walked away from him, wanting to be alone, yet as soon as I stepped away I wanted him to follow. Luckily he did, and I let my feet lead me to wherever. I found myself kneeling on the ground next to Dora, who was sobbing heavily over Remus's body.

"Dora, I'm sorry!" I bellowed. "It was my fault!"

"What?" she asked perplexedly in between a sob.

"My curse hit Dolohov a second too late."

"Oh ... Lyra, it's not your fault. Remus died bravely, and he would have died with or without you. But how I'll ever manage without him ... "

She trailed away. I wanted to tell her to get up and fight or flee, because at any given moment a Death Eater could - and would - cast a curse at her; she was an easy target. But I couldn't find the heart to tell her to leave Remus, so I let her grieve.

"THERE SHE IS!"

A screech echoed through the air and brought me back to the battle. I looked up and gasped when I saw Bellatrix, also unmasked, running toward Dora with her black hair streaming behind her and the usual insane look in her eyes.

"Dora, look out!" I yelled just as a stream of green light flew at her. She dodged it at the very last moment as she rose to the ground, trembling.

In a second all her strength was back, and she glared at Bellatrix with her wand in her hand, prepared for the duel to come.

"You," she muttered. "You wouldn't dare kill me, would you? Not your niece? Not the daughter of your little sister?"

"She is no sister of mine!" Bellatrix yelled, casting another curse, though it wasn't green. "I'm here on the Dark Lord's orders to exterminate you! I promised him!"

"Lyra, let's go," Theodore whispered. "We can attack her from behind if we hurry!"

"No! I'm not going to let Dora fall like Remus did! I'd do anything to save her, even if I have to unmask myself! I'm not going anywhere; I'll attack Bellatrix with a moment's notice!"

He shrugged in defeat, looking miserable, and we returned to the frightening scene before us.

"What about Lyra, then?" Dora asked as she sent a Stunning spell at my mother. "You know we were close; you wouldn't want to put her through any more pain by killing me, would you?"

"Lyra is not part of this! It is time to finish this once and for all and bring purity back to the Black family! Avada Kedavra!"

"Dora, no!"

I'd hardly noticed the scream that escaped my lips. The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion as the green jet of light sped closer to Dora's heart. I knocked into her forcefully and the two of us fell with a loud thud. I heard a crunch; the impact seemed to have broken her arm. The green light grazed the top of my head and knocked back my hood, but it didn't matter. There was no reason for secrets anymore.

"Lyra!" Bellatrix yelled. "What are you doing? You're a Death Eater; you're fighting for the Dark Lord!"

"You think I'm not part of this?" I spat, ripping of my mask and giving her the most venomous glare I had ever given. "I've always been a part of this!"

To my surprise, she began to laugh. "You're right. You've always been a part of this, and it's time to punish you for good." She muttered an incantation and sent a dangerous-looking beam of light toward me. I ducked, but the spell missed me entirely. A split-second later it slammed Theodore in the chest. He was thrust backward and landed on the ground, unmoving.